Beaver Hills (Saskatchewan) facts for kids

The Beaver Hills are a group of hills located in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. These hills are about 35 miles south-east of the city of Yorkton.

The Whitesand River starts in the Beaver Hills. This river is a tributary, which means it's a smaller river that flows into a larger one, in this case, the Assiniboine River.

The Beaver Hills area still has many natural grasslands and shrubs. These hills are also very good for raising farm animals like cattle.

History of the Beaver Hills

The Beaver Hills have an interesting history, with different groups of people settling there over time.

Early Settlements

One of the first groups to settle in the hills were about 300 to 400 Dakotans near a place called Sheho, Saskatchewan. They had hoped for a transcontinental (coast-to-coast) rail line to be built nearby. When the railway didn't arrive as promised, most of them moved away by the late 1800s.

Ukrainian Settlers

In 1897, a large group of 511 families from Galicia (who were Ukrainian) came to the Beaver Hills. This was the first Ukrainian settlement, or "colony," in Canada.

Growth and Development

In 1903, telephone service reached the Beaver Hills, connecting the communities there. Today, the towns of Ituna, Saskatchewan and Kelliher, Saskatchewan are both located within the Beaver Hills.

Important Discoveries

On December 25, 1905, a man named Charles Noddings found a large rock in the Beaver Hills area. This rock had a carved face, known as a petroglyph. This amazing discovery helped inspire the creation of the Royal Saskatchewan Museum in 1906.

Local Figures

Bernard Leo Korchinski was born in the Beaver Hills in 1905. He later became a politician for the Saskatchewan Liberal Party. He represented the area of Redberry in the provincial government from 1948 to 1952 and again from 1956 to 1960.